The present invention relates primarily to sliding doors (hereinafter SGD), and more particularly to sliding glass doors in residential applications. More specifically, the present invention is directed to means for securing a sliding glass door to the track which will assist in primarily resisting wind loads against the door which would tend to bow the door and raise the same off the track.
The field of the invention relates primarily to sliding glass doors(SGD) in which normally one or more panels are moveable and one or more panels are fixed. These are definitely old in the art. Most sliding glass door panels ride on a track or sill which has one or more rails, and the door panel has rollers on the lower portion which ride on the rails. While one or more of the panels may be sliding and one or more of the panels may be fixed, both panels are usually identical and equipped with rollers so that either can be a sliding panel. However, during installation, brackets are used in order to secure at least one of the panels as a fixed panel even though it has the rollers at the bottom which equips it to be a moveable panel. In many instances the entire door opening is half mobile and sliding, and the other half is permanently fixed. In such an environment the panels overlap in the open configuration. It is in the closed configuration that the problem arises, particularly with strong wind loads. Wind loads have been known to cause a bow of up to 5 inches in a 7 or 8 foot door. Once that occurs, the cord of the arc of the door which is deformed becomes less than the distance between the head and the sill of the frame. The bottom wheels are likely to jump off the rail located on the sill, and the sliding portion moves into the dwelling. The problem, of course, is how to resist the tendency to xe2x80x9cjump the trackxe2x80x9d within the economical parameters of manufacture, and without diminishing the aesthetic appearance of the door.
This invention derives from the discovery of mounting a sliding glass door track clip guide, ideally formed of plastic, to the bead on the top of the rail in the sill which is subsequently secured in place by a sliding glass door track clip which will inhibit the door from jumping the tract in strong wind loads. In addition, this contributes significantly to the general security of the SGD installation, since SGD""s, by design, must be lifted then set upon their track. The guide slidably engages the upper bead on the track on the sill and thus resists the effort of the door to jump off the track by actually gripping the track itself. More specifically a plastic type track clip guide is secured immediately at the end of the lower corner of the door in which a guide hole, large enough to encapsulate the bead of the rail, is provided in the lower portion of the track clip guide. A spread or scissors slot extends from the bottom of the track clip guide to the primary attachment slot which permits the lower portion of the clip to be widened at the time of installation by scissoring over the bead on the rail and then relaxing to where the guide hole surrounds the bead on the rail. The method of the present invention involves the steps of first positioning the panel in place. Thereafter, the main attachment screw is removed, and passed through the clip assembly. This is done only after the track clip guide has been positioned over the bead on the rail. Subsequently the track clip cover is secured over the track clip guide to lock the lower jaws of the track clip guide against any scissor-like action which would assist in dislodging the same. The method also contemplates utilizing the end of the lower portion of the sliding glass door which overlaps an adjacent panel, irrespective of whether the adjacent panel is moveable or fixed.
In view of the foregoing, it is a principle object of the present invention to devise a retrofit means for a sliding door, or means which can be employed with the original equipment, which permits the door itself to more securely engage the track on the sill, particularly where the track has a bead on the top. This objective is achieved when the clamp is in place and it resists the tendency of the door to bow and jump the track.
Another object of the present invention is to add the desirable feature of additional resistance to removal from the track without significantly increasing the cost of the door.